| Boride Series | Abrasive | Bond / Structure | Cutting Speed | Wear Resistance | Loading / Glazing Resistance | Scratch Character | Best Steel Range | Lubricant Preference | Best Use in Progression | Main Strength | Main Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS-HD | Silicon Carbide | Hard vitrified coarse-cut SiC | Very High | Medium | Good | Deep, aggressive, harsh | Hard wear-resistant steels | Water / Dry | Heavy reprofiling | Fastest Boride stock removal | Rough finish, harsh feedback |
| CS-WX | Silicon Carbide | Waterstone-like refined SiC bond | High | Medium | Very good | Cleaner and shallower than CS-HD | High-carbide steels, hard stainless | Water | Coarse-to-medium difficult steel sharpening | SiC speed with smoother finish | Still wears faster than premium AlOx |
| Ruby | Friable Aluminum Oxide | Fast releasing open bond | High | Medium-low | Excellent | Toothy, lively | Simple/tough steels | Water | Fast bevel establishment | Very responsive cutter | Dishes relatively fast |
| T2 | Premium Aluminum Oxide | Premium vitrified universal bond | High | High | Very good | Clean and even | Universal | Water | Main sharpening workhorse | Best all-around Boride | Not as aggressive as SiC on monster steels |
| Golden Star | Premium Aluminum Oxide | Refined premium bond | High | High | Very good | Slightly smoother than T2 | Universal | Water | Mid/fine sharpening | Excellent feedback | Less common grit availability |
| PC | Premium Aluminum Oxide | Dense finishing vitrified bond | Medium | High | Good | Bright semi-polishing | Medium-hard and hard steels | Water | Pre-finish / finish | Best conventional Boride finisher | Too slow for shaping |
| AS-9 | Aluminum Oxide | Dense oil-oriented vitrified | Medium-low | Very high | Moderate | Smooth bright | Simple steels | Oil preferred | Slow stable finish | Long life | Sluggish on water guided use |
| AM-K | Aluminum Oxide | Economy vitrified | Medium | Medium-high | Average | Basic utilitarian | Soft-medium steels | Water | Budget intermediate | Affordable filler | No premium traits |
Oil Behavior
| Tag | Short Definition |
|---|---|
| oil-retentive | Retains a stable working oil film on the stone surface |
| oil-wicking | Pulls oil into the stone body and dries the surface quickly |
Oil Behavior describes how a sharpening stone interacts with oil during use. The property is especially important for vitrified and resin-bonded stones because oil can either remain on the working surface or be absorbed into the stone body. Oil behavior affects sharpening feel, swarf evacuation, loading tendency, maintenance, and long-term stone cleanliness.
Oil-retentive stones keep a stable lubricating film on the surface during sharpening. This improves swarf mobility, reduces surface drying, and creates a smoother, more consistent sharpening feel. Oil-retentive stones are suitable for long-term use with honing oil.
Oil-wicking stones rapidly absorb oil into the internal structure through capillary action. The working surface dries quickly, swarf removal becomes less efficient, and oil contamination may become difficult or impossible to remove completely. Oil-wicking stones are generally better suited for water-based sharpening.
